Worried about giving up carbonated beverages

I was a diet coke addict. Absolutely craved it and could not deal without it. I had to literally start looking at it, and telling myself in my head it was gross. Every single time I told myself it was gross. That was enough to get me through initially, then I found a little crystal light with caffeine was very helpful while weaning off.

I wouldn't allow myself to buy soda, and I noticed an immediate increase in energy, my tummy started flattening, and my sugar cravings started to decrease (sugars-- even fake ones, make you crave sugar.) I also had some swelling that went away completely just from removing the sweetener and carbonation from my diet.

Since surgery, it's not something I've even considered. I trust my surgical team and I trust fully that they are giving me the absolute best advice for success.

There are so many hurdles with this surgery mentally and the need for continuous therapy is undersold. If it's truly an addiction, counseling or therapy may very well help.

Best of luck! Start sooner rather than later- it's no fun but absolutely can be done.

I can only say what worked for me and that was giving up soda cold turkey. I was truly addicted to the caffeine and soda in general. I was known to drink at up to a 2 liter of Mt. Dew a day in addition to 1 or 2 large (32 ounce) cokes from McDonalds each day. I had to make the choice of what is more important to me, my health and well being or the soda? So, I stopped cold turkey and my last drink of Mt. Dew or Coke was March 15th, 2012. In all honesty I felt like I had the flu for the first several days while my body detoxed from the soda's but then I had more energy, less bloating, and reduced pain in my joints. It was not easy by any means but it has been so worth it. I know from experience that it is easier said than done however in the long run a few days of discomfort was well worth the benefits I have experienced. Hope it works out for you.

Hi, I am going to weigh in with two things. First, while I had RNY, I do drink carbonated beverages (I am almost five years out). I drink an occasional diet coke or a diet flavored sparkling water beverage. It doesn't make me uncomfortable although some people say that it doesn't sit well with them. I think it's an individual thing.

My second thing is, while giving things up is hard, if you decide that you want to put in the effort to use your tool (VSG) and lose a massive amount of weight, then put your mind to it and do it. It's possible, even if it isn't easy. I quit SMOKING to have RNY, and lemme tell you, I had never been able to do it before, but once I decided that I was sick and tired of being sick and tired, sick of moving through the world with aching knees, sick of worrying about fitting into a restaurant booth, sick of being stressed about not getting an aisle seat on a plane...just sick of not being a normal size, I stopped smoking. If you are mentally ready to have weight loss surgery, drink 100 oz of fluids a day, eat at least 60 grams of protein per day, and limit your carbs...then you can absolutely kick the soda. Remind yourself you are worth it and you are going to have surgery to ensure you're around 30 more years, and not just 10. You can do it!

I quit smoking too in 2006 with the help of chantix and still worry about going back to it. So I know how hard that was. Is carbonated easier than that. I would think so. Went shopping today and didn't buy any carbonated. Almost out. I've been putting all my emphasis on losing weight so now I'll try to do this too.

I was a pepsiholic...first thing I grabbed in the morning and had one sitting on my nightstand. I thought I would never give it up, but I kept trying different drinks after my surgery and found I loved tea and crystal light. There are so many choices today than back in 2004. Keep trying but yes, stop drinking it, it's the best thing for "YOU".

I was never a big soda drinker, however I had a SERIOUS caffeine addiction. I'm in the process of preparing for a vsg to sadi-s revision/addition. I was told I had to give up caffeine in preparation for the surgery.

I guess the cold turkey method has it's merits, but if you are seriously addicted to the stuff you will get killer headaches if you suddenly stop. I am prone to migraines, and I wanted to avoid triggering a migraine if I could. I've been slowly weening myself off caffeine the past 3 weeks. I was drinking a large pot a day (that's 12 cups) of full caffeine coffee. Sometimes even a little more! So I switched to using K-cups so that there wouldn't be wiggle room with the size of the cup of coffee and I could have a clear number to be aiming for. It's important to be able to have clear goals...so if you are drinking from a 2-liter Diet Coke bottle or using soda fountains, you might want to consider switching to cans (maybe even those extra small cans) for the purpose of getting off of it. It will help you to know exactly how much you are taking in every day.

Now, you don't have a lot of time if your surgery is scheduled for 10/25... but you can still give yourself a few days to ween. Take an honest assessment of how much you are drinking. Commit to cutting that in half every day and you will be soda-free by the time your surgery date arrives. If you drink 10 cokes a day, drink 5 the next, then 2.5, then 1, then half of one... then your are done in five days. It might still trigger headaches and withdrawals, but they shouldn't be so bad that you feel like you can't function. (hopefully!)

Another tip I'd share is to have some Diet Coke substitutes ready and focus on those. Could be flavored water, diet lemonade, etc. Hopefully something you enjoy that you can be sipping on all day. For me I've been drinking some herbal tea and also diet hot chocolate. It keeps my mouth occupied with a warm liquid that isn't coffee. It's psychological, but it really does help.

I'm happy to say I am now down to one HALF CAFF cup a day! I'm so excited! I'll be totally off it in just a couple of days. I did have some headaches, especially in the mornings before my first cup, but they were tolerable and nothing like what I would have had if I went cold turkey.

I know it is hard, but you can do this! You've fought to get this far, I know you can keep fighting to get the Diet Coke habit kicked too. You are so worth the fight, and know that any withdrawal you experience is temporary. It WILL get better. Good luck and keep us posted!

Good point about the caffeine addiction. I never consumed much caffeine; I would nurse a single diet soda all day, or maybe have one cup of tea. So whenever I quit the diet soda, I didn't get headaches or other withdrawal symptoms. If you can wean yourself down to small amounts of caffeine, that's great. Otherwise, cold turkey may be the only way.

I loved my diet soda too. I only had perhaps 4 or 5 a week, but I was not looking forward to giving them up. I had given them up for years at a time in the past, so I knew that I could give them up when necessary.

So... In the months prior to WLS, I studied my eating and (diet soda) drinking habits. I discovered that what I enjoyed was the first sip or two of ice cold, fresh from the fridge, diet soda. After that, the rest of the soda was just OK; I drank it because it was there.

Right after WLS, I had no problem giving up the diet soda. Learning how to eat was enough of a challenge; diet soda wasn't even tempting. But after a couple of months, I made a decision. I might get criticised for my choice, but I did it with my dietitian's approval. I keep a diet soda in the fridge, and perhaps once a day I have one sip, occasionally two. After perhaps 5 or 6 days, the soda is pretty flat so I can drink the remainder if I want to.

Also, there are some low calorie drinks that are only lightly carbonated. I'm in Ireland, so I don't know what brands are available in the States, but I'm sure you can find them. One brand I like is Ballygowan Sparklingly Fruity. I don't drink the whole bottle at once because it still has a fair amount of carbonation, but I might drink 4 oz. a day.

I don't think I'll ever be tempted to drink much diet soda because it will make my sleeve feel a bit too full. The occasional sips are more than enough to keep me from feeling deprived.

Hi...just some food for thought...no pun intended!

My main addiction pre-op was at least a gallon of very sweet sweet iced tea. I drank tons of it whether homemade or Lipton extra seet iced tea.

My dietician was very laid back, but did propose considering if I preferred to eat or drink my calories.

That got my attention because I loved...and still do...everything about food. The smell, the taste, the texture...the anticipation of my next meal! My tea was important, but food won hands down!

I switched to only homemade tea made with stevia. It took some adjusting, but I can honestly say I can count on both hands the number of times I have drank stuff other than tea.

I know switching from soda would be harder, but I still focus on the...would I rather drink or eat my daily calories!

Best of luck!

Kathy

I totally hear ya! I used to drink regular pop daily, but then I switched over to diet pop - my poisons were diet Mt. Dew Code Red and Pepsi Max. I found that Crystal Light is a much better substitution and I love it because it is really sweet. After I cut down my sugar, the Crystal Light started tasting really sweet, so it curbed that sweet tooth I have so badly. Also, from my research (don't quote me because I'm not in the medical field) it seems like the "No Pop Rule" is not so much about the pop itself, but more about the carbonation in the pop. So, flavored water like LaCroix, which I also used to drink a lot of, is out too. The reasoning seems to be that the carbonation in drinks like that cause air pockets/gas bubbles that then enter your new slender pouch and expand. When it expands, it could cause the staples to tear and leaks to happen, which could be very harmful to your health. For me, when I think about the negative medical effects and the harm I could be doing from it and I understand the WHY behind the rules, then I'm more successful in abstaining. Hope this has helped a little bit.